This invention relates to small computers and similar electronic devices of the type that can be held in a user's hand and which employ Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards.
The use of replaceable memory cards instead of diskettes or other Direct Access Storage Devices (DASD) is becoming more common since 1990 when the PCMCIA standard was first published. Computers are being designed with slots to accept the PCMCIA cards and guide them into specially designed connectors. Some connectors are being designed with mechanisms that eject the card when a button located alongside of the card slot is pushed. Without this type of mechanism, the PCMCIA card must be partially exposed after insertion in order that it can be gripped by a user for removal. The exposure leaves the card vulnerable to damage, especially in small hand held computers which are more susceptible to being bumped or dropped as they are carried about on car seats and in briefcases.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,161 teaches a dual card connector that includes a pair of buttons 8, each operative through a pivoting link to actuate one of a pair of sliders to eject one of the cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,420 teaches a card connector having an ejection mechanism that operates through a pivoting link to pull on a U shaped part that engages the card.
Japanese Patent 64-76690 shows a similar button 36 which operates through a lever 33 to move a cam against the contacts 12 and raise them from the card detent 21. What appears to be a spring 17 drives the card outwardly between a pair of retarding shutters 34. The shutters keep the card from falling out as it is being ejected.
One serious drawback of the known ejector mechanisms is that they occupy space adjacent to the slot which is at a premium, especially in hand held computers. Another is that they are complex and add cost to a product that is sold in a cost sensitive market.